In the field of photography, remote lighting for photography can be difficult, especially for outdoor shots. Photographing a building or other outdoor scene presents a significant challenge when the lights must be close to the building or scene and the camera must be further away to take in the entire building or scene. In certain situations, cables are used for remote photography lighting. However, because it is typically illegal to string cables across a public street, the use of cable is often not practical. Even if it is possible to use cables, it is not preferred because they are heavy, unwieldy, and tangle easily. In addition, the cables must be hidden from view in the photograph.
As a result of the difficulties encountered using cables with remote photography lighting, various remote control devices utilizing multiple wireless technologies have been developed to remotely control photography equipment such as flashpacks and secondary cameras. Infrared (IR), cellular, light pulse, and radio frequency (RF) are some examples of wireless technologies employed in prior art devices. One particularly effective system is the PocketWizard® MultiMAX™ designed by Lab Partners Associates Inc. of South Burlington, Vt. The PocketWizard® MultiMAX™ is an intelligent device that utilizes RF technology with a fully programmable transceiver. Much of the technology incorporated in the design of the PocketWizard® MultiMAX™ is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,375, which is incorporated by reference as if fully disclosed herein, issued to Clark on Oct. 25, 1994.
Typically, prior art devices require the connection of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver to the exterior of a camera. The attachment of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver to the exterior of a camera or other device increases the weight of the device and can make the device difficult to handle. In addition, the attached device is often easily damaged. However, the only way to provide existing devices that were not originally designed to include remote control functionality with such functionality is to attach a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver to the exterior of the device. Thus, in order to provide remote control functionality to existing devices, a separate transmitter, receiver, or transceiver must be attached to the exterior of the device body as in the example of a camera described previously.